Thread: Wilkins 805 diamond

There are very few manufacturers in the A V community, who incorporate decades of experience in their products. Bowers &; Wilkins is certainly one of them, dating back to 1979, when the first speaker from the 800 series made its way out of the factory floor. Since then Bowers &; Wilkins have managed to keep the series alive by incorporating unique and innovative technical features every time. The measure of its success lies in the fact that even today the speaker series is as popular as its first version, and has risen to become an identifying factor for the brand. The latest inclusion in the 800 series was made last year when the company launched the 800 Diamond series.We reviewed the 805 Diamond, a bookshelf speaker from the same.

OUT OF THE BOX


In speakers, it is only the performance that justifies the hefty price tag that comes along with some average looking,
mostly boxy and wooden textured products. But this is certainly not the case with the 805 Diamond. One look at the speakers and you will be struggling to stop admiring the elegant, plush, and more importantly, elite feel of the speakers. The trademark curved cabinet is covered in a lush piano black finish, which forms a stark contrast with the yellow Kevlar woofer. The cherry on the pie (literally) is the diamond tweeter that sits on top of the speaker. The medium size of the speaker gives you the flexibility of placing them either on shelves or tables, but the best place to put them is on dedicated speaker stands.

TECHNOLOGY


So when we say that the 800 series has been in existence since 1979, what's new in the 800 Diamond series that was launched last year] With the 805 Diamond, Bowers and Wilkins have, for the first time, incorporated their diamond dome tweeter in a bookshelf speaker at an extremely affordable price. This legendary tweeter is a I' dome tweeter and is made of synthetic diamond that's grown with a chemical vapour deposition process. The process is very similar to the formation of ice crystals on a window pane. Engineers first heat a substrate material to form vapour, which is then further condensed to form a deposition. Once the deposition of vapour is complete, the substrate is removed and what's left behind is a dome of pure crystalline carbon. This carbon is a form of synthetic diamond, giving the tweeter its name. It is also known to have a higher break-up frequency than any other dome material used currently.



Simply having a higher break*up frequency does not really make any driver (tweeter) the best, but what it certainly does is makes the tweeter capable of handling more power and yet be linear and smooth. In the 805 Diamond's assembly, the tweeter attached to the synthetic rubber surround also serves as part of its radiating surface, adding to the total radiating surface, so that it can push as much air as possible. You will also notice that the tweeter is not mounted on the front baffle. Instead, it rests on top of the speaker and is housed in a separate tube-like structure. Though most of you might think that this is just another aesthetic gimmick, it is not. The tapering shape of the tube helps dissipate extraneous output from the bac of the high frequency driver. & the tweeter has four magnets instead of one. So, the tube also acts as a heat sink, preventing quad- magnet motor structure from overheating. As for its mids and lows, the 805 Diamond incorporates a 6.5' Kevlar-coned woofer that dominates the front baffle, with a striking phase plug grabbing all the attention.

The Kevlar woofer, another trademark of Bowers and Wilkins, is not to us. The strength of Kevlar helps the cone retain its shape at very high energy levels and its low mass assures quick, accurate response. Also the cone's woven surface delivers smooth, uncoloured rnids. Just below the Kevlar woofer you also have the dimpled flowport, which completes the two-way bass reflex design of the speaker. There are only two flat surfaces on the 805 Diamond-the front baffle and the bottom surface-the rest of the speaker is curved towards the back panel. This is a successfully implemented design at Bowers and Wilkins, which helps reduce internal standing waves in the speaker cabinet. This is further helped by an internal bracing arrangement called the honeycomb matrix.